


Defiant of the Tide

by orphan_account



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Jeagers, Kaiju, M/M, OT4, Pacific Rim AU, Promptis - Freeform, Slow Burn, The Drift, more to come - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 16:23:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15513780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Noctis, the last in a line of once Kings, is one of the Elite rangers standing strong against the Kaiju threat called down on Eos when Leviathan fell to the scourge. Ignis has shared the drift with him since they were old enough to try it. Prompto Argentum and Gladiolus Amicitia stand at their side, holding the coastline and sharing snacks. When both Jeagers are lost four must learn to drift as one if they hope to defeat the gods. If they find the homes for their hearts along the way, it's just a bonus, right?





	Defiant of the Tide

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the Jeager train. I had two different ideas that I maybe have mashed into one. I also have a lot of stories going and god knows I never update. Oh well. Kaiju's and Astrals and Jeagers ohmy!

The liquid cleared from his lungs and Noctis’ coughing turned into retching. The late dinner came back up with more gusto than it had gone down and he shuddered through it, hardly aware of Ignis’ voice communicating their status. As soon as he was able to draw breath properly he turned, wiping a hand over his mouth and surveying the situation. The hull was damaged, the protective screen between them and the ocean around them shattered along with Noctis’ face shield. The water had rushed in so fast, leaving him fighting for breath he wasn’t sure how they’d gotten away.

Around the edges were sparks as the broken wirings touched the water that remained puddled and the red lighting above him flickered. He focused on Ignis, still strapped in, hands flying over screens and voice calm as he quickly relayed the situation. Distantly he wondered if he’d be able to do that, if it was Ignis laying where he was, because he hadn’t looked down yet and really, didn’t want to know. Noctis took a breath, pushing himself up and biting back the groan of pain as he realized his shoulder was dislocated. He took the weight off of it and forced himself to his feet, glad that his legs weren’t as damaged as the ache in them felt, bruising, probably. Ignis glanced at him and Noctis caught the tang of relief, the drift still strong between them despite the damage surrounding them. He shuffled his way back to his harness, careful of the walkway.

Stepping back into it he allowed himself a moment to stare at the ceiling, tears gathering as he let his pain rule, then he was gritting his teeth and looking forward. The Kaiju was still out there.

A second Jeager, _Vivo Lucinda,_ had joined them and was locked in combat with the monster. Its electrified greatsword speared through the Kaiju’s belly and Noctis watched, unobscured without their shield, as a great plasma bolt blasted through its skull. He could practically hear the sound of Prompto, one of _Lucinda’s_ rangers, whooping. It was a much showier sort of kill than his and Ignis’ own _Deus Defiant_ typically made but it was also the sort of efficient they needed as the alarms inside of _Deus_ grew more urgent.

“ _Core integrity compromised, temperature rising.”_

Noctis tore his gaze from the Kaiju corpse that _Lucinda_ was keeping a hold of, ready to carry back for research, and started the shut down procedure with Ignis. The screen responded to him quickly but the error messages didn’t slow, too many disconnected couplings between the command center and the core.

_“Meltdown imminent, please proceed to evac maneuvers."_

Ignis’ focus on the screens didn’t waver and Noctis could feel his determination to save the Jeager but, looking at the readouts blinking red in front of him and the damage around them, it didn’t seem likely. Noctis was not going to die trying to save the thing, attached to _Deus_ though he might be.

 

“ _Defiant_ to _Lucinda_! Guys, our cores in meltdown we need to get out and get clear!”

There was a pause, the airwave silent and then, “ _Lucinda_ to _Defiant_ , we are ready to grab and go, repeat, grab and go ready!”

Noctis watched the Jeager release its grip on the Kaiju corpse, allowing it to fall into the water below.

“Loud and clear _Lucinda_!”

Noctis cut the com and started Ignis’ eject sequence, ignoring the way that Ignis shouted at him for it.

“We have to get out Ignis, we can’t save it. _Lucinda’s_ got us, just trust Gladiolus and Prompto!”

Ignis’ reply was lost as he was sealed into his pod and Noctis initiated his own escape protocol, sending a quick prayer to Shiva that they would have time to get clear of the explosion. The failsafes would keep the meltdown from happening but only by way of self-destructing the power cells and the force would still be more than enough to fry _Lucinda_ if they didn’t get away.

He felt the force of the pod ejecting and then something that must have been the impact with the sea but Noctis lost awareness afterward.

 In his own pod Ignis was fuming but aware of the wisdom of Noctis’ choice. He had been so certain he could save _Deus_ that he hadn’t been calculating their escape if he could not, an oversight he never would have made but…He closed his eyes, trying to banish the way everything had _felt._

_The Kaiju bit down, jagged teeth puncturing the hull around them, blowing out the front screen and allowing a wall of water to slam into them. Deus’ right arm was raised, shielding Ignis from some but Noctis was hit full force. Ignis felt it, a sick feeling that twisted through him as Noctis was thrown into the wall, his shoulder yanking out of place as his arm tore from the harness. The water that flooded his lungs choked Ignis and the fear that burned through Ignis veins was his own, though not for himself. He slammed the Kaiju back and pulled them from the water, the strain bursting the blood vessels in his eyes. The sudden lack of vision in his right eye was shoved to the back of his mind as he worked to keep them standing, keep them alive. Noctis. Noctis come on. Noct!_

Ignis was aware when his pod was lifted from the water by _Vivo_ _Lucinda_ and the motion of the Jeager running. He took a slow breath, it certainly was not fast enough to out-run the blast from _Deus Defiant._ Ignis opened his eyes, continuing to ignore the blackness on the right, and prayed that at least most of them would make it. He felt the pod as it was thrown forward, then, nothing.

 

Noctis opened his eyes in the med bay. The sounds of feet on hard floor moving around him is comforting, the shatter dome is a place of footsteps. Insomnia was a fitting name for the city it was built in as nothing in the place was ever silent.

He felt surprisingly good, considering his last memories, though there was a low ache in his shoulder that reminded him he’d been tossed around with it fully dislocated. He wiggled his fingers and felt only a little pain as a result. It was nice, not to be broken, but concerning considering he had no idea how long he’d been out.

“Ah. You’re awake, welcome back Noct.” Ignis’ crisp accent was a reliving sound and Noctis carefully pushed himself up, finding that nothing screamed in protest and Ignis did not try to stop him, he sat fully up.

“How long specs?” Ignis was sat at his side, looking at the opposite wall and Noctis watched him adjust his glasses thoughtfully.

“Little over a week. Fortunately the recent advancements in our medical bay should make it feel like a much longer rest, you earned it.”

As he finished speaking he turned to face Noctis and the young Prince inhaled sharply. Ignis was perfectly groomed, his glasses polished and poised as ever but behind them one green eye and one completely black eye. Ignis blinked, touching just below his right eyelid.

“I’m afraid I’ve lost vision in my right eye. It is rather startling, I know. Prompto is making me a pair of spectacles that should help hide it without hindering my vision further. Now, if you are feeling up to it, I’ve brought you some food.”

Noctis frowned, “Iggy, what the fuck happened out there?”

“When you were dislodged I had to bring us to the surface and shake off the Kaiju, Rayjak they call him, it meant taking the neural load alone and with the damage to the Jeager the cost was part of my sight. The rest you either know, or is not my part to tell. Gladiolus and Prompto can bring you up to date, in fact I don’t doubt they’ll arrive shortly.”

Relieved that the other pilots had made it though he was Noctis bit out, “You could’ve just-“

“What Noct? Let you die so I might see with both eyes? Do you think that scar would’ve been so easy to deal with? You are my responsibility, my friend, my _partner._ I could no more let you die than you could me. It would be, and was, easier to gouge out my own eyes.”

Noctis swallowed his anger and nodded, mouth tense, reaching for the food Ignis had brought him. They said no more as he started eating the light soup.

 

The silence settled over them, heavy at first, but slowly it lessened. Too many years of being in one another’s heads, of moving as one. Ignis had been Noctis’ first and only drift partner, their compatibility tested when they were small and they had one of the strongest neural handshakes in the world, comparable only to a select group, the elite rangers.

Noctis’ father and Claurus Amicitia, Gladiolus Amicitia and Prompto Argentum, Lunafreya and Ravus Nox Fleuret, Cor Leonis. The Immortal could drift strong with anyone, but his partner had been a force of nature alongside him before they’d been killed. Usually he stayed out of combat, his sole combat stint after his partner died alongside him made the drift dangerous for him now but often he would train with Iris Amicitia, his protégé.

All of the prestige meant one solid thing, Noctis could never stay angry with Ignis, they were too strongly linked, even out of combat he knew the other man inside and out and few thoughts were strangers. Given so much time Noctis had to concede the point he knew Ignis had been making, if their positions were reversed Noctis would’ve easily given up his sight to save his partner.

His soup bowl had long been set aside when there was a loud scuffle and the doors to the med-bay banged open, giving a glimpse of the entry desk, the hallway and the busy ground floor beyond. Prompto Argentum, his arms and cheek bandaged, stood triumphantly in the doorway, Gladiolus Amicitia behind him rolling his eyes fondly and holding an armful of junkfood and handheld game devices.

Noctis perked up immediately and even Ignis seemed to shake off his quiet, smiling ruefully at the other two.

“You always did make a guy wait Noct! They wouldn’t even let me in until you’d for sure woken up and it took us _forever_ to sneak all the snacks past the front. You’d better be feeling good man ‘cause we are so far behind in the King’s Knight update and Gladio promised to give us the blow-by-blow of how we saved you and got _Lucinda_ fried!”

As usual, Prompto was energy and light and talking far too much to cover his concern. Noctis just grinned at him, “What can I say Prom? I’m worth the wait, though if you’re right about how far behind we are in King’s Knight I’m gonna have to invent a time machine.”

Prompto’s grin became a little less forced as Noctis joked with him and he plopped himself down at the foot of the bed, legs crossed in his soft black standard issue pants. Gladio snorted as Ignis stood and started helping him set his load down, shooting the blonde a look.

“Iggy, you’re glare was already scary, now it’s badass and terrifying. Let the kid be.” Gladio’s teasing made Ignis pause and them offer a slight nod.

“Well it is good to know that my injury might be enough to finally motivate Noct to eat his vegetables.”

The sound Noctis made did not encourage that idea, but Ignis didn’t mind much. The four of them had been friends for a long time, though there was a natural rivalry that came from being elite rangers. Prompto was both the newest and most lovable addition to their group, always trying to keep spirits up and going out of his way to make them smile. Noctis was doubly glad that he had made it out of the scrape as he shifted around by his feet, passing Noctis a bag of chips and wiggling his toes against Noctis’ leg.

“It sucks that we lost _Deus._ ,” The twist in Noctis’ heart told him the understatement was not appreciated, “You said _Lucinda_ got fried, how bad?”

Prompto sucked in a breath and looked to Gladio who sighed, “Kid, Blondie might’ve been whining about not getting to see you but he just got released yesterday. I’ve got a check up again in an hour for my head. _Lucinda’s_ back took the brunt of the blast but we got whipped around pretty good, there’s not much of her left. Word is they’re building us new ones.”

Ignis gave them a look, “ _A_ new one. Not plural. The Marshall and our science department have come up with a design for a four-pilot Jeager and since we just lost two of our best, they are asking that we test for four way drift. I am…uncertain how I feel about it.”

The silence that followed, unbroken by even Prompto. It was a lot already, one extra person’s thoughts in your head, their motivations and every secret bared, to add to that would be a stretch. Moreso, Noctis knew that there were things he’d rather Ignis not even know, let alone the other two who didn’t share his mind and he had little doubt the same was true of everyone.

“Well, I suppose we should verify that is the intent because if it is I have some things I would like to air before they are less…delicately exposed.”

As ever, Ignis had caught the feeling of the group and Noctis nodded.

“Yeah…but uh, guys, can we like, do all of that later? I finally don’t feel like creamed corn inside and Noct’s awake, let’s celebrate!” Prompto grinned at each of them, an undercurrent of pleading in his voice and Noctis laughed.

“I’m gonna kick your ass kid.” Gladio planted himself in the chair beside them, pulling his phone out as Ignis sighed and gracefully took a seat on the floor, passing a bag of seasoned popcorn up as he did.

“I suppose I’ll have to see the new update for myself.”

 

If Cor found them, hours later, with empty bags scattered around them and Noctis growling the occasional order from where he was sitting, hip to hip with Prompto, Ignis in the chair and Gladio laying on the floor, it was of no concern to anyone else.

He allowed himself a small smile looking at them, but restructured his expression and cleared his throat to gain their attention.

“Rangers.” They all sat up straighter or stood (Ignis) and he nodded to their respectful salutes, “I’m glad the lot of you seem to be getting along well. As much as we’d all like the time to play, it cannot last. Tomorrow, 05:00 we are commencing the first drift test for the four person. It’s been christened in your absence _Janus Ultima_ you’ll see why. I expect you to all present yourselves as the first class Ranger’s you are. Get some sleep.”

He nodded sharply at the end and watched as each of them made an affirmative gesture.

“ _Janus.”_ Ignis breathed, watching the marshal walk away.

“The God of gates.” Gladio affirmed, grim.

“Hey! I remember learning about him, he had two faces and was about war and peace, opposites.” Prompto sounded excited but he trailed off, “The ending of war.”

“Or the beginning.” Noctis muttered, picking at a string on his blanket. It was a reminder, of the things waiting for them in the water outside Insomnia’s shatterdome.


End file.
